General 4/15/2024 2:30:00 PM United East Athletes of the Week - April 15, 2024 LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for April 15, 2024. This includes Athletes of the Week for both the Skye and Volt Divisions in Baseball and Softball as well as Women’s Lacrosse, and Men’s Lacrosse This week’s selections included contests from Monday, April 8 through Sunday, April 14. A total of 12 student-athletes were recognized for their performances. Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Hailey Betch / Jr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Severna Park, Md. / Severna Park HS Hailey Betch matched her career-highs of nine goals (on 11 shots) and 11 points as St. Mary's College picked up a 26-1 win over Notre Dame (Md.). Additionally, Betch notched her 50th goal of the season while adding a season-best four ground balls, two draw controls and one caused turnover. Betch’s 50 goals currently leads the United East and is 43rd in all of NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse. Betch was the United East Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree, and has now won Player of the Week three separate times; February 26, 2024 and February 20, 2023. Defensive Player of the Week Kayleigh Woomer / Sr / Cedar Crest College / Gates Ferry, Ct. / Ledyard HS Woomer registered a career-high 18 saves in goal to preserve an 8-7 victory over Notre Dame of Maryland University. The senior also tallied two ground balls and two caused turnovers in the triumph over the Gators. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Woomer, who currently leads the United East with a .536 Saves Percentage and is third with a 5.78 Saves per Game average. Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week Jonathan Balsamo / Sr / Cairn University / Long Island, N.Y. / Eastport South Manor Balsamo scored six goals on Saturday, including his 100th career goal, the most in program history and only Cairn Men's Lacrosse player to reach that mark so far. He added an assist as well in the evening to finish with 7 points. Balsamo currently is second in the United East, averaging 3.75 Goals per Game and is fifth with 4.38 Points per Game. This is the fourth Player of the Week nod for Balsamo, who won for the weeks of March 18, 2024, March 6, 2023, and April 22, 2022, previously and was on the First Team All-Conference in 2023. Defensive Player of the Week Ethan Little / Sr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright HS Ethan Little anchored a Seahawk defense that allowed only three goals on 22 shots as St. Mary's College notched an 18-3 road win over Penn College. Little matched a career-best four caused turnovers and scooped up three ground balls while adding a goal and an assist. Little was a 2022 First Team All-Conference honoree, and this is the fourth Player of the Week award over his career; March 4, 2024, March 7, 2023, and February 27, 2023. Softball Player of the Week - Skye Division Anabelle Hafner / FY / Notre Dame of Maryland University / Dundalk, Md. / Mercy HS Hafner went 7-for-11 including two doubles in three games this past week, slashing a .636 BA/ .818 SLG / .667 OBP. She scored six runs, driving in a pair of RBIs in the process while going 8-for-8 in stolen bases. Hafner is now second in the United East in doubles and third in stolen bases. This is the second Player of the Week award for Hafner, who previously won for the week of March 25, 2024. Pitcher of the Week - Skye Division Kylee Miller / FY / Clarks Summit University / Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg Area HS Kylee Miller threw a perfect game on Tuesday against Word of Life Bible in a run-rule shortened 5-inning game. In the afternoon, Miller struck out 7 of the 15 batters faced and only threw 43 pitches during the outing. On the week, Miller went 2-1 in the circle with a 1.47 ERA in 3 starts with 15 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched. Miller is currently second in the United East with a 1.90 ERA and third with 76 strikeouts. This is the second Pitcher of the Week award for Miller, who previously won for the week of March 25, 2024. Player of the Week - Volt Division Madelyn Lehigh / Jr / Penn State Harrisburg / Harrisburg, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt HS Maddy Lehigh's torrid hitting continued during Penn State Harrisburg's most-recent 5-1 week. The junior slashed an impressive .600/.652/1.100 with a 1.752 OPS, racking up 12 total hits, including four triples and two doubles, 11 runs, three RBI, and a pair of stolen bases. Thanks to her efforts, the shortstop currently leads the nation in triples and triples per game after setting the single-season program record for triples (11). Lehigh is a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree as well as a NFCA All-Region honoree in 2023. This is the second Player of the Week award for Lehigh, who previously won for the week of April 8, 2024. Pitcher of the Week - Volt Division Paige Brightwell / FY / Penn State Berks / Pittstown, N.J. / Delaware Valley HS Brightwell went 3-0 on the week with three CG shutouts. Over her 21.0 IP, she stacked 20 strikeouts against just three walks and didn't allow a single extra-base hit. Currently, Brightwell is third in the United East with 87.1 Innings Pitched and sixth with 65 Strikeouts. This is the second Pitcher of the Week award for Brightwell who previously won for the week of March 25, 2024. Baseball Player of the Week - Skye Division Dylan Jackson / Jr / Cairn University / Levittown, Pa. / Truman HS / Chestnut Hill College Jackson went 7-14 on the week through 5 games, including an offensive performance on Saturday against St. Elizabeth with 4 hits, 2 home runs, a triple, 7 runs scored and 6 RBI to lead Cairn over the Eagles in two high scoring games. On the week, Cairn went 4-0 while Jackson hit .500 with a 1.500 Slugging and a .619 OBP. This is the first Player of the Week award for Jackson, who was named Honorable Mention in the CSAC for the 2023 season. Pitcher of the Week - Skye Division Brayan Villar / Sr / Keystone College / West Orange, N.J. / Belleville HS Villar tossed a complete game as he pitched seven innings where he allowed three hits and two earned runs with 10 strikeouts to lead Keystone to a 5-2 win over Wilson College on Sunday. Villar is currently third in the United East with a .227 Opposing Batting Average, and eighth with a 3.69 ERA. This is the second pitcher of the week award for Villar as he was named CSAC Pitcher of the Week on April 24, 2023. He received Honorable Mention All-CSAC honors a season ago. Player of the Week - Volt Division Carlos Irizarry / So / Penn State Harrisburg / Chantilly, Va. / St. Paul VI Catholic Carlos Irizarry was Penn State Harrisburg's most consistent hitter during the team's 4-1 week. The sophomore slashed .538/.647/.769 with a 1.416 OPS, scoring seven runs and driving in six more with a home run, a triple, a double, three walks, and a pair of stolen bases. He homered in the team's victory over Lancaster Bible on Friday afternoon before capping the week with a 3-for-3 performance that saw him finish a home run shy of the cycle in another win over LBC on Saturday. This is the first Player of the Week award for Irizarry, who is currently fourth in the United East with 34 RBI. Pitcher of the Week - Volt Division Danny Eden / Jr / Penn State Harrisburg / Morgantown, Pa. / Twin Valley HS Danny Eden turned in another quality start in a win at Lancaster Bible on Friday afternoon. The junior earned the win after throwing 5.1 innings and allowing just one earned run on three hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts to improve to 4-1 on the season. Eden currently leads the United East with a .195 Opposing Batting Average and Hits Allowed (22) and is Top 5 in ERA (4th; 2.94), Strikeouts (5th; 38), Strikeout Looking (5th; 15), and Runs Allowed (2nd; 14). This is the fourth Pitcher of the Week award for Eden, who previously won for the weeks of April 8, 2024, March 6, 2023, and February 28, 2022. 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